Subscribe To

Sunday, 29 July 2012

Peninsulas beginning with B.

I'm staying on the Bjare peninsula in South-West Sweden and write a blog devoted to a peninsula beginning with B in S.W. Turkey. Initially the two places seemed completely alien to each other but over the weeks a few similarities have emerged. Patriotism is championed in both areas. The Swedes here are as keen as the Turks to fly the national flag. Yellow and blue flutters above all civic buildings and in about 25% of gardens. Several flag poles have emptied this week. Does the flag comes down when the occupier goes on holiday? Perhaps they take it with them.
The soft fruits and tomatoes grown in Bjare are surprisingly good. I didn't expect to taste a tomato as delicious as those grown in the summer fields at home but the ones here are tastier. How can this be with the amount of rain and the lack of sunshine I've experienced this month?
Swedes and Turks share a love of yogurt and fermented and soured milk. All sorts of ayran variations are available here. Some salted, some not - all tricking the unsuspecting tourist into choosing the wrong carton for their morning coffee.
And finally, both countries are useless at producing cling-film! It doesn't stick to itself and falls off in the fridge When I get to the UK next month, I'm going to stock up on a year's supply of Tesco's best and keep a roll in my travelling bag.

Glad you are enjoying Sweden and finding similarities with Turkey.....would love to see Sweden but not in the winter.Nice they like to fly the flag in Sweden...Canadians are bad, barely anybody flies one. Only when the world Soccer stuff comes on well....then all different flags from around the world will fly. I get mad b/c where is the Canadian flag and patriotism ????I sure don't share that yogurt, sour fermented milk......yuk enjoyment! Anybody here who my Turkish husband lets them try an Ayran they spit it out.I thought when first married he made it up...I guess you have to acquire a taste for it. After 25 years I still can't.....

The British only seem to do Flag flying "ironically" as in cushion covers and door mats. The English flag is now be associated with football matches. I understand the reluctance to embrace ayran. I hated it when I first tasted it but now love it. Thanks for your replies Erica, I love reading them.

Interesting to learn of the similarities between Swedes and Turks...who would have thought it?Sweden is not on my list of places I want to visit, but you are making it a little more appealing!When are you back home?

Have a wonderful time in Scotland! Every time I pass the caper bush on our island, I think of you - that's every day! (By the way, on my list for cooking-related stuff from abroad is freezer bags. The ones from the U.S. can be washed out and used multiple times.)

What about zip lock bags in Sweden? Now theres a biz plan in Turkey - zip locks and cling film (though the larger catering ones are ok if you have the counter space). Sweden and Scotland sound great compared to 50 degrees.

Patriotism/nationalism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, so said Samuel Johnson, and he wasn't wrong! Only have to look at all those evil political shites with their lapel flags - the sooner people grow up and realise that cultures are not about boundaries and stupid flags the sooner the world will be a bit better place to live in. We're human beings - not Swedes, Canadians or Brits.

I was never comfortable with the flag raising and lowering at the beginning and end of the school week. It was a bit too intense, but honouring the flag is ingrained into generations of Turks. It's not going to go away quietly.

Wow, that is a lot of similarities! Oh, cling film - gave up on the stuff years ago and now try to live an existence without it. Looks like it was a wise choice if it's not so good in a lot of countries. :)

About Me

In early 1982 I boarded a Turkish Kibris flight to Izmir - my destination was a 29 foot sloop in Bodrum's new marina. At 22, my belongings fitted into a worse for wear sailing holdall. In 2012 I made a similar journey from Heathrow to Bodrum. Thirty years have passed and Bodrum has changed. There are plenty of very good blogs detailing the ex-pat journey through modern Turkey. The aim of this one is to catch sight of past Turkey through my experience of re-settling in modern Bodrum.